Marshall Terrill is a celebrity biographer who has published 15 books. His subjects have included Steve McQueen, Elvis Presley and Pete Maravich.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Popular humorist makes surprise visit to ASU

Gustavo Arellano

ASU Spanish professor Manuel
Hernandez might be a tad nervous next week when he presents his lecture on the
work of syndicated columnist Gustavo Arellano. That’s because the
Mexican-American humorist, best-selling author and editor of the Orange County Weekly plans on being in
the audience.

“When I heard there was going to be a lecture on my work, I
did what any good Mexican would do: demanded I be allowed to sneak into the
party for free,” Arellano said. “It’s an honor to have my work discussed at
ASU, and muy, muy meta.”

Arellano’s surprise visit and Hernandez’s lecture, “The
Humorist Gustavo Arellano’s Work and the Human Condition” kicks off the 2013
fall Project Humanities, a university-wide initiative to promote the importance
of humanities within the higher education system and community. This year’s
theme, “Humor…Seriously!”, is an examination of how humor plays an important
role in our everyday lives, across disciplines, communities, cultures,
professions, and generations.

Hernandez’s lecture is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 16, 2013, at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass
Communication, 555 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, room 128. Following Hernandez’s presentation, Arellano
will speak and sign copies of his three books.

The lecture series, now in its sixth year, is open to the
general public and is free.

Arellano’s sharp tongue-in-cheek humor combined with his
historical storytelling abilities has opened up a captivating and intriguing
dialogue among millions of Americans. Through his satire, he address issues
such as Southwest Mexican and Mexican language, stereotypes, ethnic relations, immigration,
cuisine, day labor and religion.

“Most interactions among whites, blacks and Latinos are
usually very formal and surface-like but Arellano deconstructs and pulverizes
misunderstandings and fears to reveal the fragility and strength of our human
condition in forging, while anchored in local culture, an ever-changing
national identity,” Hernandez said. “He (Arellano) isn’t afraid to take
stereotypes by the horns and mixes it with both humor and history and does it
most effectively.”

Arellano is a lifelong resident of Orange County,
California, and is the son of two Mexican immigrants, one whom was illegal. His
column “¡Ask a Mexican!” was started as a lark in 2004, and his politically incorrect
humor proved so popular the Orange County
Weekly made it a regular column. The column today has a weekly circulation
of over 2 million in 39 newspapers across the United States, and won the 2006
and 2008 Association of Alternative Weeklies award for Best Column. He was also
the recipient of the Los Angeles Press Club’s 2007 President’s Award and an
Impacto Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and was recognized by
the California Latino Legislative Caucus with a 2008 Spirit Award for his
“exceptional vision, creativity, and work ethic.”

He was published in book form by Scribner Press in May 2007
with ¡Ask a Mexican!, followed by best-sellersOrange County: A Personal History (2010)
and Taco USU: How Mexican Food Conquered
America (2012). Arellano is also a lecturer with the Chicana and Chicano
Studies department at California State University, Fullerton.